EVANS CITY — Gabe Edwards figured he’d have to settle for one year as a starting football player.

A 2012 Seneca Valley graduate, Edwards did not start for the Raiders until his senior season. He was a starting cornerback for a team that finished 8-3, losing in the second round of the WPIAL playoffs.

“A pretty good year, but I thought that was it,” Edwards said. “My dad and I went around looking at colleges and I had no thoughts of playing any more football.”

That all changed when a coach for Oberlin (Ohio) College paid a visit to Seneca Valley.

“It’s a high-level academic school,” Edwards’ mother, Cheryl, said. “Oberlin was looking for players who would also fit academically. Gabe had a 3.7 GPA in high school and was in the National Honor Society.”

Next thing he knew, he was enrolled at Oberlin.

The Yeomen, members of the North Coast Athletic Conference, have not had a winning season in years. They lost 28 of 40 games in Edwards’ four years there.

But he received plenty of playing time, quickly emerged as one of the team’s top defensive players and was a team captain his final two seasons.

“I fell in love with Oberlin,” Edwards said. “I never imagined I’d get to play as much as I did. Even my freshman year, I played on three of the four special teams units and was the defensive back we added on passing downs.”

Edwards became a three-year starter at Oberlin. He was nominated for NCAA Division III Preseason All-American this season and led the Yeomen with three interceptions and nine pass break-ups.

“He was a good player for us, one of the better defensive backs in the conference,” Oberlin head coach Jay Anderson said. “He was an intelligent player who recognized what offenses were trying to do to us.

“He’d come over to the sideline, talk to me or the defensive coaches about what he was seeing on the field and about adjustments we can make. We’re going to miss that.”

Edwards wound up playing in all 40 of his team’s games during his college career, starting the last 30. He was third on the team with 54 tackles this season — including 44 solo stops — and had seven career interceptions. He made 100 solo tackles over the past three seasons.

Edwards played cornerback, free safety and strong safety in college.

“Our roster was small, so I played wherever they needed me,” he said.

And he had plenty of family support.

“We attended all 40 Oberlin games since he’s been there,” Cheryl Edwards said. “It was a thrill for us.

“Now that it’s over, we’re not sure what we’re going to do with our time next fall.”

Two games stand out for Edwards during his time at Oberlin. The Yeomen traveled to seventh-ranked Wabash his freshman year and scored a 31-16 upset victory. This past season, Oberlin was Wooster’s homecoming opponent and pulled off a 28-23 victory.

“I love winning as a heavy underdog,” Edwards said. “That was the first time we’ve beaten Wooster in more than 10 years.”

Anderson referred to Edwards as “a great leader who did all the right things.

“The guys rallied around him and Gabe performed on Saturdays. He was a very consistent player,” the coach said.

Now that his playing career is over, Edwards is hopeful his football career will continue. A history major with a minor in sociology, he is on pace to graduate in May.

Edwards has applied for graduate school in education at Notre Dame (Ohio) and Robert Morris, among other schools.

“I’m hoping to become a graduate assistant coach and I want to be a teacher,” he said. “My brother is a teacher and my father was a teacher.

“A lot of my teachers and coaches are responsible for the man I am today. I want to have that same positive affect on people.”

Edwards has two older brothers. Tim, a 2003 Seneca Valley graduate, went on to play rugby at Robert Morris. Ben, a 2006 SV grad, went on to Westminster, but had his football career curtailed by an ankle injury.

All three brothers played football at Seneca Valley. Their father, Herb Edwards, retired after a 36-year career as a teacher at Evans City Elementary. Ben Edwards now teaches in the Mohawk School District.

“It was always healthy for our boys to play sports,” Cheryl Edwards said. “I can’t imagine their lives without it.”